This is the cause of death for Matthew Perry, which was determined almost two months following his untimely demise. According to the Los Angeles medical examiner, “acute effects of ketamine” caused the demise of the beloved Friends icon. Contributing factors included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication utilized in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Perry was forthright regarding his years-long opioid addiction. An accident has been determined to have been the cause of mortality (“drug and drowning related”). At the time, he was 54.
The autopsy report details the state of Perry’s health prior to his demise. Diabetes and a “history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/emphysema” were mentioned in the actor’s profile. It addressed Perry’s alleged drug use in the past, but noted that he had been sober for the prior nineteen months. Although an avid smoker, he refrained from utilizing tobacco during that period. The most notable remark, however, was that Perry had recently undergone “ketamine infusion therapy,” which occurred 1.5 weeks prior to his death.
Increasingly, ketamine therapy is being utilized to treat mental health conditions. In addition to clinics in the Los Angeles area, concierge services enable the procedure to be performed at home. It has been utilized to treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, and more. The medication is typically administered intravenously. Ketamine, an anesthetic that has been utilized since the 1960s, is also consumed for recreational purposes. Initially popularized in the 1990s as a club substance on account of its psychedelic properties.
When and how Perry used ketamine prior to his death are unknown.
“The exact method of intake in the case of Mr. Perry is unknown,” stated the autopsy report, which also revealed that the actor was reportedly treating anxiety and depression with ketamine therapy. However, the coroner said that “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less.” As previously mentioned, he did receive infusion therapy more than a week ago.
“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” according to the report. “Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness.”
The afternoon of October 28, Perry passed away at his residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Prescription medications were discovered at the location; no illicit substances were detected. According to the autopsy, none were discovered in the pool. Perry was pronounced deceased at the scene after his body was discovered in his hot tub. Foul play was not permitted.
As per the death certificate of Perry, the actor passed away at 4:17 p.m. Keith Morrison, Perry’s stepfather, is identified as the informant; therefore, the Dateline presenter is credited with identifying Perry to authorities.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson informed Yahoo Entertainment that officers were dispatched to the block of “Blue Sail Drive” at 4:10 p.m. to investigate the demise of a man in his fifties. Initial responders to the scene, the Los Angeles Fire Department, reported that when they arrived at the residence, they discovered “an adult male unconscious in a standalone hot tub.”
Capt. Adam Van Gerpen noted in a statement, “A bystander had raised the man’s head above the water and dragged him to the edge; firefighters then removed him from the water upon their arrival.” TMZ reports that the bystander was Perry’s assistant. Reportedly, upon the assistant’s return to the residence, he discovered Perry in the hot tub.
“Unfortunately, a rapid medical assessment determined the man had passed away before the arrival of first responders,” the Fire Department added. The investigation was directed by the robbery homicide division of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Perry underwent an autopsy on October 29; however, the determination of the cause of death was postponed until the toxicology report was available.
Perry, the actor, had spent the morning at his nearby country club playing pickleball hours prior to his passing. The Friends icon began participating in the activity while sober. Perry’s forthright account of his extensive dependence on prescription painkillers and alcohol was prominent in his best-selling memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which was published last year.
